Thai police have broken up a major fake passport ring led by an Iranian known as “The Doctor” which sent hundreds of passports to Middle Eastern customers trying to enter Europe, authorities say Wednesday.
Photos of the forged documents show some fake Israeli passports as well.
The kingdom has long been a hub for a forged document industry serving human traffickers and other criminals.
Five years of investigation culminated in Monday’s arrest of the alleged Iranian mastermind Hamid Reza Jafary who had learnt his skill from his late father, police say.
The 48-year-old had for many years been crafting sophisticated forgeries from his home in Chachoengsao province east of Bangkok, they say.
“He (Jafary) produced passports for people from countries including Iran, Syria and Afghanistan who were escaping wars and wanted to enter Europe,” according to immigration police commander Lieutenant General Nathathorn Prousoontorn.
“The Doctor” confessed to the crime and could face a decade in jail if convicted, he adds.
Clients emailed the Iranian forger their photos and specified the country for which they wanted a passport, the commander says, adding that Jafary guaranteed his top-quality counterfeits would not be detected by border officials.
— AFP, Times of Israel staff
Fake passports are displayed at the immigration bureau in Bangkok on February 10, 2016 after Thai police broke up a major fake passport ring led by an Iranian known as “The Doctor” which sent thousands of passports to Middle Eastern customers trying to enter Europe. (AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI)
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
